to a solid color 
. If that icon is not visible, hit the
Alt key on your keyboard, go to “Tools”, and click “Compatibility View”. At the
bottom of the window, click “Compatibility all websites”, then click OK
Q. What is the information source
for the Open Checkbook?
A. Spending details are based on transactions recorded by state agencies in the statewide accounting system known as MMARS (the Massachusetts Accounting and Reporting System).
Q. How often is the Checkbook updated?
A. Payment information is updated each weeknight, and reflects data from the end of the prior business day. Payroll data is updated every two weeks and the state pension info is updated monthly, in conjunction with those payment schedules. On all screens, the “Data Current as of” date is reflected, and is automatically updated after each refresh.
Q. How do I search for a particular business or individual that has received funds from the Commonwealth?
A. On the Vendor Search tab, enter all or a
portion of the business or individual’s name into the Vendor Search
box.
Q. Why are some Vendor names blank?
A. When multiple small payments of the same type are to be made, MMARS allows departments to use a generic vendor rather than having to obtain tax documents to establish individual vendor records. The most common instance is for postage payments – rather than having one entry for the hundreds of post offices across the state, state agencies use one general vendor, and a legal name and address is not added to the record.
Q. Why are some Vendors listed more than once?
A. There are many reasons for this, including:
Q. What does Headquarters city and state mean?
A. A Vendor’s legal address is defined as the company’s headquarters. The Open Checkbook lists each vendor’s legal address. It does not necessarily reflect where the money was spent. For privacy reasons, city and state information is not displayed for individuals paid by the state.
Q. Where can I find definitions for Spending Sub-Categories?
A. A description is available by hovering over the Sub-Category name. Spending Sub-Categories correspond to the Object Codes used in the state accounting system. The individual Object Codes are defined in the Expenditure Classification Handbook, which is maintained by the Comptroller’s Office.
Q. How does the Export link work?
A. After clicking the Export link, the user will be able to download up to 10,000 rows of data in the tab delimited format. The download format should match what’s seen in the tables, except for extra columns which display the HTML code used for the hover over descriptions.
Q. Does the Payroll list reflect all current State Employees?
A. Yes, but it also includes contract employees and individuals who were on the payroll earlier in the year, but are no longer an active employee. This tool cannot be used to determine the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees in the state. Rather, it is focused on payroll spending.
Q. Why are there differences between the Annual Rate and Earnings?
A. The Annual Rate is the calculated annual rate for an employee, while earnings are the year-to-date actual payments received. Earnings may be lower than Annual Rate if the final payroll has not been paid, or if the employee was on unpaid leave during the year. Earnings that are higher than Annual Rate reflect payments from a number of possible sources, such as overtime, additional pay for working overnight, on weekends or holidays, or some recognitions for length of service or educational degrees.
Q. Is the difference between 2010 and 2011 earnings because of salary increases?
A. Not primarily. Many employees participated in furlough programs in 2010 which reduced their take home pay from 3 to 9 days. Those measures were not repeated in 2011, so a full year of earnings is reflected.
Q. Why are some employee annual rates $0?
A. There are two types of employees reflected on the payroll list – salaried employees and contract employees. Some contract employees have regular schedules, but many work intermittently, and do not have a “salary”. Rather than display an incorrect value, no amount is shown.
Q. Are employee reimbursements reflected?
A. No, employee reimbursements are not shown by the individual employee, but will eventually be shown summarized by department.
Q. Do state employees receive a Pension and Social Security Benefits?
A. State employees are not active members of Social Security, but instead contribute up to 11% of their annual salary to the pension system.
Q. Is all state spending information available in the Open Checkbook?
A. This release of data is the first of many
phases to make state finances accessible to the public. The most
straight-forward information is included in this release, with additional
information planned for future development. Future phases will include:
Q. What historical data is available?
A. State spending for Budget Fiscal Years 2010, 2011 and 2012 is reflected. This is a continuous period from July 1, 2009 to the present. The Commonwealth’s budget fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.
Q. Where does the funding for the Open Checkbook spending come from?
A. Most of the revenue comes from State Tax revenue, but significant amounts also come from Federal funding, particularly for social services programs, and dedicated trust funds. Further information about State Revenue can be found on our Revenue summary page.
Q. Is the information presented audited?
A. The Commonwealth audits data at the end of each fiscal year (June 30th); audit reports are issued the following January. All prior year expenditures have been audited; data for the current year is unaudited.
Q. Does the data match the Commonwealth’s audited financial reports?
A. Due to exclusions and restrictions in the Public Records Laws, detailed transactions will not match the audited expenditures. The summary page available on the website provides the full value of the Statutory Basis Financial Report (SBFR). In future phases, additional spending and adjusting transactions will be presented with appropriate redaction to comply with Public Records Laws and more closely match the SBFR.
Q. Why do some agencies display less detailed information?
A. Some agencies have expenditures that are not subject to detailed release based upon public safety or privacy concerns. In these instances the Open Checkbook Team and the affected agencies have worked to have as much information included on this site as possible without jeopardizing protected data.
Q. Who do I contact if I have questions about specific payments to a specific vendor by agency/department?
A. Send an email to OpenCheckbook@massmail.state.ma.us with as much information about the particular payment or payee as you can in order to ensure the most accurate response. If the central staff cannot answer your question, it will be forwarded to the appropriate agency for a response.
Q. Who do I contact for general information about the spending portion of this site?
A. If you have any questions about spending, or
suggestions on improving the reporting of Massachusetts state government
finances, please contact OpenCheckbook@massmail.state.ma.us
Q. Which browsers are supported by the Open Checkbook?
A. The Open Checkbook is compatible with the following browsers: Internet Explorer 7and 8, Firefox 3.5+, and Safari 4 and 5. If you are using Internet Explorer 9, the searches and features to drill into further detail will not work unless compatibility mode has been turned on.
Q. How do I turn on Compatibility Mode for Internet Explorer 9?
A. Click the Compatibility View button on the
address bar to make the icon change from an outline to a solid color . If that icon is not visible, hit the
Alt key on your keyboard, go to “Tools”, and click “Compatibility View”. At the
bottom of the window, click “Compatibility all websites”, then click OK
Q. How can I tell which browser I am using?
A. There is usually an About feature under a browser’s Help menu. It will display the name of the browser and the version.
Q. How does the Open Checkbook meet accessibility standards?
A. There is an accessibility mode for the site. Per the Commonwealth’s commitment to meeting and exceeding Section 508 compliance, extensive testing has been done to ensure that as many standards are met as possible. Only a few remain outstanding, and those have been identified and fixes are being discussed with the software vendor.
Q. How do I access the Accessibility mode?
A. Citizens using assistive technologies, such as JAWS, will be provided a separate link to access the Open Checkbook. This link will navigate them to a version of the application that is better enabled to support assistive technologies.
Q. How do I increase or change the size of the text on the pages?
A. Unfortunately, the Open Checkbook does not offer the ability to dynamically change the size of the text across pages. However, the Internet browser’s zoom functionality can be used to magnify text.
Q. How do I navigate the calendar pop-ups and other features using an assistive technology, such as JAWS?
A. There are a number of specialized commands
that are in use. They are detailed in an Assistive Technology Tips
sheet.
Q. Why has my session ended prematurely?
A. The Open Checkbook will end a user’s session after 30 minutes of inactivity. To regain access, return to the main Open Checkbook site – www.mass.gov/opencheckbook
Q. No search results are coming back – why?
A. The Open Checkbook is built on more than 5
million data records. It is designed to allow users to easily find the
information that they need with a series of searches that narrow the results
displayed. However, if the search criteria are contradictory no results will be
displayed. (e.g., one Government Area is selected, and a Department that is not
part of that Area is selected) Review the criteria and revise as needed.
Similarly, if the criteria entered are very specific, there may not
be any data that matches the request. Remove some of the filters, and search
again. It is better to start reviewing at a high level and narrow the results
from there.